Method and device for making nut butter and nut milk

ABSTRACT

A device for producing nut butter and/or nut milk from nuts. The device includes a base having a motor, an outer container positioned above the base, a mixing container positioned within the outer container, and a cutting device positioned within the mixing container and configured to be driven by the motor during operation. The mixing container has inner sidewalls and at least one screen, the inner sidewalls being substantially vertical and the at least one screen having a plurality of holes particularly sized to allow emulsified nut milk to freely pass therethrough. The cutting device has a central hub and at least two blades, the at least two blades vertically offset and each having a blade tip, with each blade tip positioned a certain radial distance from the inner sidewalls of the mixing container. A method for producing nut butter and/or nut milk is further described.

BACKGROUND

Nut milk is a popular beverage, particularly for people who do not wishto consume dairy for either personal or medical reasons. The vastmajority of nut milk is currently sold pre-made in stores. Pre-made nutmilks are readily available but keeping the solids in suspensionrequires adding a lot of additive chemicals, negating many of the healthand flavor benefits. While there are numerous nut milks on the market,most have extra ingredients that are often undesirable. For example,some contain tricalcium phosphate, a natural mineral salt that increasesthe calcium content of almond milk to that of dairy milk. It alsocontains carrageenan, a naturally occurring family of carbohydratesextracted from red seaweed. It is used to suspend calcium and vitamins,as they would settle at the bottom of containers without this additive.Non-organic nut milks contain ingredients such as gellan gum, used as athickener and stabilizer, dipotassium phosphate, used in non-dairycreamers to prevent coagulation and xanthan gum, which preventsseparation. While these ingredients have all been deemed safe for fooduse, there is some controversy as to how safe they are. As a result,many people have begun to make their own nut milk. Multiple recipes areeasily found online. The process to make nut milk generally includes a‘Nut Milk Bag” which is essentially a fine mesh cheesecloth bag. Makingnut milk is also relatively inexpensive. Most recipes require one cup ofnuts to every 4-6 cups of water.

There are known methods of producing nut milk fresh either at home or ina small retail location, however these all have numerous disadvantages.The most common method requires soaking the nuts over night in water,draining the water, adding fresh water and nuts to a blender, blendingand straining through a staining bag. This is a very messy and timeconsuming process and much of the nut nutrients and flavor is lost whensoaking and draining the over-night soaking water. The soaking isrequired to soften the nuts so that they will emulsify better in theblender, allowing finer particles to allow for better extraction of thenut nutrients when blended in water. If this step is not preformed thereis much more pulp left in the straining bag, meaning less nut nutrientsin the finished milk and greater food waste. Regardless of the length ofsoaking, current methods of manufacturing nut milk in small batchesleave left over nut pulp that is not able to be emulsified into the nutmilk. Soybella makes a soy milk maker that also has instructions formaking nut milk. However, this machine produces the same results asabove, with large amount of nut pulp left over and not incorporated intothe nut milk.

Further, a way of producing nut butter is by pulverizing nuts in a foodprocessor or blender, either for making nut milk as above or oftenbecause the nut butter itself is desired (e.g., in cooking, for use as aspread). However, the known devices do not sufficiently butter the nutseven after running the motor for an extended length of time, insteadleaving behind chunks of unbuttered nut pieces. There are also nutbutter devices on the market that are aimed at producing nut butter.However, these devices often require the addition of oils to help withthe buttering process, as well as often being mostly only capable ofbuttering roasted nuts and teaching away from using raw nuts. Forinstance, Nostalgia makes a peanut butter maker that may also be used tobutter other types of nuts, but instructs the addition of oil.

What is needed is a method to efficiently produce nut butter and nutmilk in small batches with little or no waste of nut pulp, notime-consuming soaking step, and easy cleaning. A single small appliancethat allows consumer to perform this method at home is also needed.

The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations therewith areintended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of therelated art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon areading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure is a simple two-step method tocreate nut milk in small batches. First, nut butter is formed in a smallappliance from whole nuts or nut pieces. Once the nut butter is formed,water is added and blended with the nut butter to create nut milk. Ifneeded, the nut milk can be strained to remove any remaining unbutterednut pieces. Another aspect of the present disclosure is a smallappliance that allows a user to quickly turn a chosen amount of nutsinto nut milk in two short steps with substantially no leftover nutpulp. Another aspect of the present disclosure is a small appliance thatis easy to clean. Another aspect of the present disclosure is a devicethat allows a user to make nut milk in two steps with minimal or no nutpulp waste. Another aspect of the present disclosure is a device thatefficiently butters nuts placed therein in a single step withoutleftover chunks of nut pieces, and without requiring added oils.

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described andillustrated in conjunction with systems, tool and methods which aremeant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. Invarious embodiments, one or more of the above described problems havebeen reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed toother improvements.

A small appliance to create nut milk having a mixing container and acutting device, the cutting device having one or more blades positioneda clearance distance from the inner walls of the mixing container. Thearea of the mixing container around the blades may be vertical or nearlyvertical at least for the height of the cutting device and a short spaceabove. One or more screens may be provided to strain leftover nut skinsand any nut pulp that was not ground small enough to go into suspensionin the water during a mixing step.

In addition to the aspects and embodiments described above, furtheraspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to theaccompanying drawings and the detailed description forming a part ofthis specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in greater detail below withreference to the following figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a nut milk device;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the nut milk device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a second embodiment of a nut milk device;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a nut milk device;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the nut milk device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a nut milkdevice;

FIG. 7 is a front cross-sectional view of the nut milk device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side cross-sectional view of the nut milk device of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the cutting device of the nut milkdevice of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of container markings for a nut milk deviceaccording to the present disclosure.

Before further explaining the depicted embodiments, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of the particular arrangements shown, since the invention iscapable of other embodiments. It is intended that the embodiments andfigures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather thanlimiting. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purposes ofdescription and not limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should first be understood that nut butter is a common name for whennuts are ground into a smooth paste that can be spread similar tobutter. Peanut butter is the most common form, although peanuts are nota true nut and the peanuts must be roasted to achieve a butter statewith current production methods. Of course, nut butter may be made usingother types of nuts as well, such as almonds or cashews, among others.Nut butter may be made from raw, roasted, and toasted nuts, typicallyyielding a ratio of about two cups butter per three cups nuts. Inaddition to nuts and some legumes (e.g., peanuts), certain seeds mayalso be buttered in the same fashion, for example sesame seeds,including raw, roasted and toasted seeds. The terms “nut” and “nutbutter” are used herein for exemplary purposes in the interest of clearand concise description; no limitation is intended or should be inferredwith respect to taxonomically non-nuts that may also be buttered andused for like purposes, as such applications are within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Unless noted otherwise, the methods and stepsdescribed herein for turning nuts into nut butter, and emulsifying nutbutter in water to produce nut milk, according to the present disclosureare generally in reference to using about two cups nuts (any type) andeight cups water. This is for illustrative purposes; it being understoodthat altering the quantities and/or ratio of ingredients may result indifferent absolute values (e.g., the observed buttering time) comparedto the described embodiment, yet still benefit from relativeefficiencies according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a nut milk maker device 100 is shown as asmall appliance which is sized to rest on a countertop or similarsurface. A base 101 has a motor 102 which drives a shaft 103. A cuttingdevice 104 is mounted on the shaft 103 and thereby powered by the motor102. The cutting device 104 comprises a central hub 105 and at least oneblade 106 extending outward from the central hub 105. The cutting device104 of the depicted embodiment has two blades, with the bladespositioned by an offset height from each other. Each blade 106 has ablade tip 107 at its end opposite the central hub 105. The central hub105 may comprise one or more ribs (not shown), as described in moredetail below. A mixing container 109 mounts on the base 101 over theshaft 103. The mixing container 109 has inner sidewalls 110 and outersidewalls 111. A removable lid 113 is provided on top of the mixingcontainer 109. A base plate 114 is provided at the bottom of the mixingcontainer 109 in this embodiment. The base plate 114 is a metal platewith small holes to allow the nut milk to drain through at the end ofthe process as described below. In a preferred embodiment, the baseplate 114 comprises 100 mesh screen (0.0059 inch or 0.149 mm diameteropenings), which is small enough to allow emulsified nut milk to drainwhile also filtering out nut skin pieces and leftover nut pulp, if any.The cutting device 104 is mounted on the shaft 103 inside the mixingcontainer 109 over the base screen 114 as shown.

The inner sidewalls 110 of the mixing container 109 are preferablyvertical or mostly vertical in the area around the cutting device 104 toensure that the nut butter is well formed. The mixing container 109could expand to hold more liquid above the area where the nut batter isformed, if desired. The blades 106 extend out radially from the centralhub 105 toward the inner sidewalls 110. The clearance between the tip107 of each blade 106 and the inner sidewalls 110 is about 0.10 inches(2.54 mm) in the depicted embodiment. While a radial gap of 0.10 inches(2.54 mm) between the tip 107 of the lower blade and the inner walls 110of the mixing container 109 is preferred, a range between approximately0.09 to 0.11 inches (2.29 to 2.79 mm) may also be used. In such anarrangement—where the inner sidewalls 110 in the area of the cuttingdevice 104 are substantially vertical and spaced apart from the bladetips 107 between about 0.09 and 0.11 inches (2.29 to 2.79 mm)—the nutsare effectively pulverized into nut butter, rather than just beingchopped into fine pieces and avoiding further processing by the blades.Similarly, it is also advantageous that the bottom blade of the at leastone blades 106 is positioned close to the bottom surface of the mixingcontainer 109, which is defined by the base plate 114 in thisembodiment. The bottom blade may be spaced between approximately 0.04and 0.07 inches (1.02 to 1.78 mm) from the bottom surface of the mixingcontainer 109 with effective rendering of nuts into nut butter.

In operation, the nut milk maker 100 is run until the nuts have beenfully converted into nut butter. The user then pours water into themixing container 109 and the nut milk maker 100 is run again to mix thenut butter and water, thereby creating fresh nut milk. The nut milk canbe dispensed out of a pour spout 115 positioned under the base plate114, which retains any particles of the nuts that did not get fullypulverized and emulsified in the water (e.g., nut skins). In the priorart methods about 70-85% by weight remains as unused pulp and skin. Bycomparison, in the method of the present disclosure almost no pulp isleft over, significantly reducing waste and clean up. In one embodimentof a method of using the nut milk making device 100, a chosen amount ofnuts (including raw, roasted, or toasted) are first placed in the mixingcontainer 107 and the lid 109 is secured thereon. Then, the motor 102 isturned on for between about 2-12 minutes, or longer for some nuts, untilthe nuts are turned into nut butter. It should be appreciated that thebuttering time varies depending on the type of nut and moisture contentof the nut. For instance, soft nuts (e.g., cashews) often butter in lessthan three minutes. Harder nuts, such as almonds, may butter in morethan five minutes or so. However, a high moisture content of the almondsmay increase the buttering time to up to 20 minutes. Once the nut butteris formed, then the water is added and the motor is turned on again withthe contents blended for another 1-2 minutes or so. In a preferredembodiment, two cups of raw nuts and 8 cups of water yieldsapproximately half gallon of nut milk, with all or nearly all the twocups of nuts liquefied into the nut milk. With the prior art methods,even if there was a comparable yield of the amount of nut milk, the nutmilk produced would be more dilute, and therefore have fewer nutrientsand less flavor.

Of course, it is understood that there is no requirement to add water tothe nut butter to make nut milk. If the user desires, the method anddevice of the present disclosure can be used in a single step as a nutprocessor to make nut butter as just described. Then the user can usethe nut butter for any number of purposes (e.g., in cooking, as aspread, etc.). No limitation of the present disclosure only pertainingto nut milk is intended, nor should any such limitation be inferred.

Referring next to FIG. 3, another embodiment of a nut milk maker device300 according to the present disclosure is depicted. A base 301 has amotor (not shown) which powers a cutting device 304 using a shaft 303.The cutting device 304 has at least one blade 306 extending outward froma central hub 305. The depicted embodiment has at least two blades, withthe blades positioned by an offset height from each other. A mixingcontainer 309 is provided within an outer container 316, and thus has asmaller diameter than the mixing container 316. Both the mixingcontainer 309 and outer container 316 mount on the base 301. The mixingcontainer has inner sidewalls 310 facing the cutting device 104, outersidewalls facing the outer container 316, and a bottom surface 312positioned under the bottom blade of the at least one blades 306. As inthe previous embodiment, is important to maintain adequate minimum andmaximum distances of the blade tips 307 from the inner sidewalls 310 ofthe mixing container 309. Therefore, the inner sidewalls 310 of themixing container 309 may be arranged between about 0.09 to 0.11 inches(2.29 to 2.79 mm) from the blade tips 307, and preferably by a clearanceof approximately 0.10 inches (2.54 mm) therebetween. Likewise, thebottom blade may be arranged between approximately 0.04 and 0.07 inches(1.02 to 1.78 mm) from the bottom surface of the mixing container 309.In this embodiment, a screen 314 comprises the entirety of the sidewalls310, 311 of mixing container 309. The screen 314 is preferably metalwith holes sized to prevent non-emulsified nut butter/pieces (if any)and leftover nut skin from passing through into the gap between themixing container 309 and the outer container 316, but simultaneouslyallowing fully emulsified nut milk to pass through. For instance, thescreen 314 may be a 100 mesh stainless etched screen (0.0059 inch or0.149 mm diameter openings). In this embodiment, the finished nut milkis poured out the top of the nut milk maker 300 after the lid 313 isremoved. Leftover nut particles, if any, remain in the mixing container309 and are not poured out with the filtered nut milk. Note that themethod of using the device and time ranges for each step are roughly thesame in all the disclosed embodiments.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, some embodiments of a nut milk maker device400 according to the present disclosure may include a storage container417 to hold the finished nut milk. For instance, the base 401 may beappropriately sized and/or otherwise configured to receive the storagecontainer 417, such that the pour spout 415 is positioned to readilytransfer the finished nut milk to the storage container 417. Therefore,the base 401 is tall enough for the storage container 417 to fit underthe mixing container 409. The nut milk maker 400 also includes a screen414 positioned within the mixing container 409. In this embodiment, thesides of the screen 414 are appropriately spaced from the blades, in thesame manner as the walls of the mixing containers in the previousembodiments, to allow for sufficient pulverization of the nuts into nutbutter.

Referring next to FIGS. 6 through 9, a further embodiment of a nut milkmaker device 600 according to the present disclosure is shown. Asbefore, a motor drives a shaft (not shown) connected to a cutting device604 with a mixing container 609. The cutting device comprises a centralhub 605 and one or more blades 606 radially extending from the centralhub 605. The blades 606 are offset from one another in the verticaldirection along the central hub 605. The leading edge of each blade 606has extensive serrations for pulverizing nuts into nut butter. Eachblade 606 has a blade tip 607. The blade tips 607 are positioned betweenapproximately 0.09 to 0.11 inches (2.29 to 2.79 mm), and preferablyabout 0.10 inches (2.54 mm), from the inner sidewalls 610 of the mixingcontainer 609 (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Likewise, the bottom blade of the oneor more blades 606 may be positioned between approximately 0.04 and 0.07inches (1.02 to 1.78 mm) from the inner bottom surface 612 of the mixingcontainer 609. The central hub 605 may also comprise a plurality ofradially-extending ribs 608 which help with mixing (see FIG. 9).

The mixing container 609 is positioned within an outer container 616. Indepicted embodiment, the mixing container 609 is sized to hold the totalamount of nut butter and water that will be used to make a desiredamount of nut milk. For example, the mixing container 609 has a volumelarge enough to produce about 2 L or so (about ½ gallon) of nut milk inone use. Of course, the device may be sized for smaller or largerproduction capacities as well. It is also conceivable that the mixingcontainer may be sized to hold only a portion of the ingredients—forinstance if some water was instead configured to flow into the gapbetween the outer container and mixing container—and still fall withinthe scope and spirit of the present disclosure. However, as described inmore detail below, such conceptions may not emulsify the water and nutbutter as efficiently during mixing as the depicted embodiment. The nutmilk maker 600 also includes at least one screen 614 arranged on thesidewalls 610, 611 of the mixing container 609. The at least one screen614 has holes sized to prevent non-emulsified nut butter (if any) andnuts/skin pieces from passing through to the gap between the mixingcontainer 609 and outer inner container 616, but also sized to allow theemulsified nut milk to drain through. For instance, the at least onescreen 614 may be 100 mesh size (0.0059 inch or 0.149 mm diameteropenings). In the depicted embodiment, each screen 614 is approximately75 mm wide by 40 mm tall (about 2.95 by 1.57 inches).

The depicted nut milk maker 600 further comprises a mixer 618 whichextends up from the base 601 and terminates above the mixing container609. The mixer 618 introduces one or more mixing arms 619 into themixing container 609. The mixing arms 619 are configured to scrape nutpieces and/or nut butter from the inner sidewalls 610 of the mixingcontainer 609 during the nut butter making step. In this way, the mixingarms 619 may knock any butter/pieces from the upper portions of theinner sidewalls 610 back toward the blades 606. Further, the mixing arms619 may be actuated during the nut milk making step to assist in theblending of the nut butter with the water. It should be appreciated thatadequate clearance is provided between the mixing arms 619 and theregion of the sidewalls 610 occupied by the blades 606. In someembodiments, the sidewalls 610 of the mixing container 609 may even beinverted so that gravity draws the nuts and butter back towards theblades 606, and no mixing arms 619 are provided.

In operation of this embodiment, a user may insert the nuts into themixing container 609 through an opening in the lid 613 and the nut milkmaker 600 is turned on until the nuts are sufficiently buttered by theaction of the blades 606, as well as the secondary contribution from themixing arms 619 and the ribs 608 of the central hub 605. Of course, inother embodiments, the lid 613 may not have a separate opening and theentire lid may simply be removed to add nuts and then replacedthereafter. As described above, the nut buttering time may vary from acouple minutes to almost 20 minutes, depending on at least the type ofnut, hardness and moisture content. Nonetheless, the arrangement of theblades, central hub, mixing container, and mixing arms of the presentdisclosure provide for an efficient and substantially completepulverization of nuts into nut butter as compared to the known devices.Of course, a user can stop after the buttering step if only the nutbutter is desired, without continuing further in the process of makingnut milk. In such cases, the present disclosure relates to a one-stepmethod of making nut butter. Further, no added oil is required tofacilitate the buttering process. For example, the device of thedepicted embodiment can butter up to six cups of almonds. However,buttering time and motor strain may correspondingly increase as a useradds nuts, especially toward the upper limits, compared to the butteringtime and motor strain experienced for a quantity of nuts typically usedto make nut milk (e.g., about two cups nuts per eight cups water). Anylimitation restricting the scope of the present disclosure to nut milkonly is neither intended nor should such limitation be inferred.

In a second step of operation, where the user desired to make nut milk,water is added to the inner container 609 and the nut milk maker 600 isagain run (e.g., one to two minutes) to emulsify the nut butter into thewater. The spinning of the blades 606, ribs 608 of the central hub 605,and the mixing arms 619 may all contribute to the mixing process. Atthis point, the nut milk is ready and a pour spout 615 may provided onthe outer container 616 for emptying the finished nut milk into astorage container 617 or another vessel, as desired. The blades 606and/or arms 619 may further be actuated to provide a centrifugal forcefor quicker draining. As discussed above, the duration of thebutter-making step may vary depending on the type of nut, preparation(e.g., raw, toasted, roasted), and condition (e.g., moisture content).However, thorough mixing may only take 1-2 minutes according to thepresent disclosure. Further, there is no need to presoak the nuts inwater for hours beforehand, as with conventional methods for making nutmilk.

It should be appreciated that the mesh size and the length/widthdimensions of the one or more screens 614 initially keeps the addedwater confined to the mixing container 609, since the nut butter blocksor “clogs” the screen until enough emulsification thereof has occurredfor the resulting nut milk to begin draining through. Concentration ofthe added water and nut butter together within the mixing container 609facilitates the emulsification process, compared to previous deviceswhere the water is free to move in between the mixing section and outersection (i.e. only a portion of the water is in contact with the nutsfor mixing at any given time, potentially leading to longer mixing timesand incomplete emulsification).

As illustrated by FIG. 10, it may be advantageous to include markings onthe container for any embodiment to assist users in adding the correctratio of nuts to water.

While a number of aspects and embodiments have been discussed above,those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications,permutations, additions and sub-combinations therefore. It is thereforeintended that the following appended claims hereinafter introduced areinterpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additionsand sub-combinations, which are within their true spirit and scope. Eachembodiment described herein has numerous equivalents.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms ofdescription and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the useof such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible within the scope of theinvention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although thepresent invention has been specifically disclosed by preferredembodiments and optional features, modification and variation of theconcepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in theart, and that such modifications and variations are considered to bewithin the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.Whenever a range is given in the specification, all intermediate rangesand subranges, as well as all individual values included in the rangesgiven are intended to be included in the disclosure. When a Markushgroup or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of thegroup and all combinations and sub-combinations possible of the groupare intended to be individually included in the disclosure.

In general, the terms and phrases used herein have their art-recognizedmeaning, which can be found by reference to standard texts, journalreferences and contexts known to those skilled in the art. The abovedefinitions are provided to clarify their specific use in the context ofthe invention.

In accordance with the present disclosure, a set of claims maypotentially include:

1. A device for producing nut butter and/or nut milk from nuts,comprising:

-   -   a base having a motor configured to drive a shaft;    -   an outer container positioned above the base;    -   a mixing container positioned within the outer container, the        mixing container comprising inner sidewalls and at least one        screen, the inner sidewalls being substantially vertical, the at        least one screen having a plurality of holes sized just large        enough to allow nut milk to freely pass through; and    -   a cutting device positioned within the mixing container and        mounted on the shaft, the cutting device configured to be driven        by the motor during operation, the cutting device comprising a        central hub and at least two blades, the at least two blades        vertically offset and each having a blade tip, each blade tip        positioned a radial distance from the inner sidewalls of the        mixing container.        2. The device of claim 1, wherein the radial distance between        the inner sidewalls and each blade tip is between approximately        2.29 and 2.79 mm (0.09 and 0.11 inches).        3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the radial distance        between the inner sidewalls and each blade tip is approximately        2.54 mm (0.10 inches).        4. The device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein a bottom blade of        the at least two blades is spaced approximately 1.02 to 1.78 mm        (0.04 to 0.07 inches) from the bottom inner surface of the        mixing container.        5. The device of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one        screen is arranged in the sidewalls of the mixing container.        6. The device of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plurality of        holes of the at least one screen are approximately 100 mesh.        7. The device of any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising two        screens, each screen approximately 75 mm by 40 mm (2.95 by 1.57        inches).        8. The device of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sidewalls are        substantially comprised of the screen.        9. The device of any of the preceding claims, wherein one or        more mixing arms are provided within the mixing container, the        one or more mixing arms configured to scrape the inner sidewalls        of the mixing container.        10. A method for producing nut butter directly from nuts using        the device of any of the preceding claims, the method comprising        the steps of:    -   adding a desired amount of nuts into the mixing container; and    -   activating the at least two blades for between about two and        twenty minutes until the nuts are pulverized into nut butter.        11. The method of claim 10, wherein the nuts are raw, roasted,        and/or toasted nuts and need not be presoaked beforehand, and        wherein oil need not be added.        12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein one or more mixing        arms are activated during the step of pulverizing the nuts into        nut butter.        13. The method of any of the preceding claims, further        comprising the steps of:    -   adding water to the mixing container; and    -   activating the at least two blades for about one to three        minutes until the nut butter and the water are fully emulsified        into nut milk.        14. The method of claim 13, wherein one or more mixing arms are        activated during the step of emulsifying the nut butter in water        to form the nut milk.        15. A method for producing nut butter directly from nuts using a        device, the steps consisting of:    -   adding a desired amount of unsoaked nuts into a mixing container        of the device; and    -   activating at least two blades positioned inside the mixing        container for about two to twenty minutes until the nuts are        pulverized into nut butter.        16. The method of claim 15, wherein one or more mixing arms are        activated during the step of pulverizing the nuts into nut        butter.        17. A method for producing nut milk using a device, the steps        consisting of:    -   adding a desired amount of unsoaked nuts into a mixing container        of the device;    -   activating at least two blades positioned inside the mixing        container for about two to twenty minutes until the nuts are        pulverized into nut butter;    -   adding water to the mixing container holding the nut butter;    -   activating the at least two blades for about one to two minutes        until the nut butter and the water are fully emulsified into nut        milk; and    -   draining the nut milk through a pour spout of the device.        18. The method of claim 17, wherein one or more mixing arms are        activated during the steps of pulverizing the nuts into nut        butter and emulsifying the nut butter in water to form the nut        milk.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   X00—nut milk maker    -   X01—base    -   X02—motor    -   X03—shaft    -   X04—cutting device    -   X05—central hub    -   X06—blades    -   X07—blade tips    -   X08—ribs    -   X09—mixing container    -   X10—inner sidewalls    -   X11—outer sidewalls    -   X12—bottom inner surface    -   X13—lid    -   X14—base plate/screen    -   X15—pour spout    -   X16—outer container    -   X17—storage container    -   X18—mixer    -   X19—mixing arms

The invention claimed is:
 1. A device for producing nut butter and/ornut milk from nuts, comprising: a base having a motor configured todrive a shaft; an outer container positioned above the base; a mixingcontainer positioned within the outer container, the mixing containercomprising inner sidewalls, a bottom surface, and at least one screenarranged in the inner sidewalls, the inner sidewalls being substantiallyvertical, the at least one screen having a plurality of holes sized justlarge enough to allow nut milk to freely pass through; a cutting devicepositioned within the mixing container and mounted on the shaft, thecutting device configured to be driven by the motor during operation,the cutting device comprising a central hub and at least two blades, theat least two blades vertically offset and each having a blade tip, eachblade tip positioned a radial distance from the inner sidewalls of themixing container; and one or more mixing arms arranged within the mixingcontainer, the one or more mixing arms configured to scrape the innersidewalls of the mixing container; wherein the radial distance betweenthe inner sidewalls and each blade tip is between approximately 2.29 and2.79 mm (0.09 and 0.11 inches); wherein a bottom blade of the at leasttwo blades is spaced approximately 1.02 to 1.78 mm (0.04 to 0.07 inches)from the bottom surface of the mixing container; wherein the pluralityof holes of the at least one screen are approximately 100 mesh.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the radial distance between the innersidewalls and each blade tip is approximately 2.54 mm (0.10 inches). 3.The device of claim 1, further comprising two screens, each screenapproximately 75 mm by 40 mm (2.95 by 1.57 inches).
 4. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the sidewalls are substantially comprised of thescreen.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the central hub of the cuttingdevice comprises radially-extending ribs.